The Thacher Legacy

At K2 Intelligence we’ve built our Construction and Real Estate practice on the distinguished legacy of Thacher Associates, a firm we acquired in 2012.

In 1985, New York Governor Mario Cuomo sought to retake control of New York City’s construction industry from organized crime and bid-rigging cartels. His solution: the state’s Construction Industry Strike Force. To lead it, he appointed Thomas D. “Toby” Thacher II and Joseph A. DeLuca.

In 1990, Governor Cuomo again turned to Thacher and DeLuca to design a program to protect his newly created New York School Construction Authority. Over the next six years, they designed and implemented numerous strategies to prevent, detect, and remediate corruption in construction of the city’s schools. Many of the people who supported them are now employed at K2 Intelligence.

Early Efforts Won Widespread Praise

In 1996 CBS’s 60 Minutes contrasted the techniques Thacher and DeLuca designed and implemented with the lax vetting of federal construction projects. Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government cited the techniques as models that should be replicated by the federal government. The New York Times suggested “the Thacher model” be adopted throughout private industry.

That same year, Thacher and DeLuca founded Thacher Associates to do just that. It was the first firm focused on integrity monitoring and regulatory compliance in the construction and real estate industries.

The Focus Shifts to Compliance

Along the way, Thacher expanded the scope of the risks it helps clients manage. The initial focus was on fraud and corruption. Now the emphasis is typically on countering waste and mismanagement and ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.

We can be part of your company’s team. We can support your in-house or outside counsel where appropriate, or your compliance organization, or serve as an outsourced compliance unit.